Page 17 of Choose You

I finish my sandwich and start scrolling through a few more rental listings. Maybe David missed one that has an opening. After a few minutes, a shadow passes over me, and someone sits in the chairopposite me. When I look up, my eyes lock with Matthew’s deep green gaze.

“Jess, please. Can we be civilized adults for once, and just talk about this?” His voice is calm, but his words trigger all my inner anger. He’s right, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready for this conversation.

CHAPTER 6

MATTHEW

The anger on Jessica’s face is so familiar, yet so foreign to me. I’d seen her mad plenty of times growing up. Jessica has a temper and seeing her pissed off is an interesting thing to watch. It’s cute most of the time.

But her anger was never turned toward me, except when I tried to steal her horse. So being on the receiving end right now—no matter how deserving it might be—is an unfamiliar position.

I’m not sure any of my usual methods for calming her down will work. Especially not kissing her. That used to work like a charm. Pulling her close, wrapping my arm around her waist, and gently pressing my lips to hers always turned her anger to mush. She’d melt into me, all the tension in her body fading as she relaxed.

She’s changed a lot since the last time I saw her. Her features are sharper, more pronounced than what I remember. Maybe because she’s thinner than I recall. Not that she was ever big, but her curves were softer before and her cheeks were fuller.

Any hint of the young girl is gone and she’s all woman now, more beautiful than ever. The soft curls of her hair hug her body and accentuate the swell of her breasts. Her very full breasts. Her dress cuts into a deep V in the front, and I’m struggling to keep my eyes up, and not stare at her cleavage. But fuck, it’s hard.

Her eyes are the same. Deep pools of sapphire blue with hints ofgold that sparkles when the light hits them just right. And that mouth—pouty, pillowy, pink lips made for kissing.

She sits back in her seat and crosses her arms over her chest. Any other time, I’d be grateful she did that because her arms push her breasts closer together and up.Fuck, that cleavage.“What do you want, Matt?”

I drop my head and rub my hand on the back of my neck. I start to open my mouth to answer her, but Rachel walks up to our table.

“Hey, Matt. I brought you a coffee, just the way you like it.” She sits a travel mug in front of me with her typical big grin.

“Thanks, Rach.” I reach for my pocket to pull out my wallet, and she shakes her head.

“This one’s on me.” She pats my arm before she turns to Jessica. “Yours too, sweetie.”

Jessica shakes her head, and waves her hand over the table. “Oh, no. I can’t let you do that. I can pay.”

“I’m sure you can, but you’ve got enough to deal with right now. The least I can do is comp your lunch.” Rachel turns to me and winks. “Anything to eat?”

“Nah, this is good.” I lift the coffee and force a smile. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” She pats my shoulder and leaves me alone with Jessica’s softened gaze. If Rachel picked up on the tension between us, she didn’t let on. But that’s typical for her. She probably sensed it before she brought the coffee over. Hell, it’s probably why she brought the coffee and comped Jessica’s lunch. Rachel hates for people to be upset and makes it her mission to cheer them up.

“Jess, I just want to make sure you have a place to stay. It’s tourist season, and I doubt you’ll find anywhere close by to rent. Mom’s making up the spare room for you as we speak. But if you prefer your old room, that’s an option, too.”

“So, you thought you’d march in here like a knight in shining armor and save the day?”

“I’m not trying to be a knight. Just trying to do the right thing here. I thought you knew.”

She drops her arms and leans forward, and fuck, that’s even worse. Her chest presses against the edge of the table and pushes her cleavage right in my face. I force my eyes to look away, and hope shecan’t see the effect she’s having on me. “I didn’t know shit. Apparently, no one thought I needed to know my ex and his new family were living in my house.”

I cringe because that stings. “It’s just me and Emmie. We moved in after Emily died.”

Her expression softens and her eyes gloss over. “I heard about her death. As much as I hated her, I never wished her dead. I’m sorry that happened.”

I shrug. The last thing I want to talk about with Jessica is my dead wife or how she died. Having a child was supposed to be a happy time. But for us, it was anything but. Leaving the hospital alone with a newborn baby had never been something I’d considered would happen. “Thanks. That was a long time ago. Emmie and I are fine. Being a single dad suits me.”

A tear escapes her eye, and she quickly wipes it away. I doubt that tear has anything to do with my loss. Hell, I’m not upset about it. I know that makes me an asshole, but I was never in love with Emily. I cared about her. She was a good person with a heart of gold, but she was never supposed to be my wife. I never intended to marry her. When she ended up pregnant, I didn’t have a choice. I did what I thought was the right thing, and made her my wife no matter how much it hurt me to do it.

Jessica closes her laptop. Whatever anger she had when I arrived is gone and replaced with sadness. “I can’t do this with you right now.”

“Jess, please.” I reach across the table for her hand, but she pulls back. It was an instinct, and I immediately regret it. I can’t help my need to comfort her. “Sorry. I’m just offering you a place to stay while you’re here. I’ll keep my distance.”

“Oh, that’s very kind of you considering it’s my fucking house.” Her voice elevates, and several heads turn in our direction.